Collection of a Fool
by Taes
Summary: You think you know them, with their telltale names and their strange personalities. You don't. A collection of AU shorts. Some continuations of my existing stories, some placeholders. Het and Yaoi included. UPDATE: Uchiha family exploration fic AU.
1. Can you hear it?

**Warnings: **Angst. Poetry-in-text. No pairing.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

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Someone help me with a summary, and a title, please? 

**

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Author's note: **welcome to my wonderful world of shorts...these are stories I write on whim, usually for a friend, about things that touch me. My friend (and beta) Sweetie-Pai thought it would be interesting if I assembled these in a "shorts" collection, so I did.

**NONE OF THESE "CHAPTERS" ARE RELATED UNLESS SPECIFICALLY NOTED. THESE ARE ALL SEPERATE, SHORT FICLETS IN A SERIES...**

If I say "up for grabs" in the status heading, that means that I'm open to you (the reader) writing a spin off. You can borrow my ideas, my characters, my characterization, whatever. But you have to tell me, and I'll likely brainstorm with you, and then I'll comment happily on your fic.

**Note: **I reserve the right to write my own version of the stories, even if you start one before me. I will credit you if I borrow your idea, I will note that you wrote a different version. But, writing is fun for me, and so is reading, so I'll mostly just write what I want...

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**Summary: **Sasuke is a musician. He muses. 

**

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Title: "**Can you hear it?"  
**Narrator: **Sasuke.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for profanity and teenager-type thoughts.  
**Author: **Taes.  
**When I wrote it: **August 13, 2005.  
**Status: **unknown. Up for grabs.  
**What I wrote it for: **Sweetie Pai (paytakprenses)'s "O B S C U R E". Retype the link for an interesting take on Sasuke.

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 19085705 SLASH

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I stand here, swaying gently, and I see _you_ seeing me, seeing my body like it's a thing. I hear my voice ensnare you, watch your eyes glaze and your guard drop. I have you now, and there's never any letting go. 

I smile coldly, smile wide, and watch as your eyes start to fall, fall from your head in your sweet insanity, and I try and remember to keep the words going.

Keep the words strange and beautiful in my own little world, hear the only thing as it is, and keep it the way it should be.

Hearing you, hearing me, watching _us_ watch you, that's

you

and I listen to all the silence filling my voice and the music filling your head and I hear _only_ what I want to hear.

Nothing more, so I smile.

I smile a tiny little grin, and you shy away...shy away from the thing that has

me

like I have you.

_Dreams_ and things and _fate_ have me,

hold me tight

tearing me down from

reality

as I smile at you, singing a song of

death

-- my death--

and peace

-- your peace--

to the sound of their laughter.

Listen.  
Listen.

Can't you hear it?

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	2. untitled

**Warnings:** Profanity, slavery, incomplete.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**

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Summary: **Orochimaru is a man in power. He owns Naruto and Sasuke. (AU, obviously...)

**

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Author's note: **...I have no idea where this is going...help me? If you wanna play with them, go ahead! Give me credit, though, and tell me what you're doing, 'cause I might wanna copy _you, _back. (:

**

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Title: **untitled  
**Narrator: **unknown guy  
**Rating: **PG-13 for profanity and mature concepts.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status: **incomplete, up for grabs if you wanna try it.  
**Date written: **September somethingth (either the 1st or the 2nd? Maybe before that? It was in my notebook...)  
**What I wrote it for: **I read a book.

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**untitled **by Taes

Their eyes were just like ours, only deeper set, and without the wrinkles our old get. The taller blond's were amazingly blue, and his quirked smile was accented by the loose, golden hair. The smaller Jap, he got black hair so deep it's blue, hey? It ain't like ours, it ain't brown or coarse. You get me, don'cha. It's a silky kinda string and fine as could be, yeah? Yeah, I can see why the two Fuck-asses were little more than whores.

I can see real good, see?

Dancing smiles, both of 'em. It was like watching a fly swim in the air, really, with that crappy feel of shityness.

I got the _feelin', _m'bro, that if you mixed their skin together, huh? If you mixed it up, and could make it like one guy's, you'd get a healthy honey wash, better 'n the cleanest guy like me. An knowin' this, I had to spit, to get the taste outta my mouth...yeah.

Their clothes. Yeh, that clothing's like designer _slut _wear, hell yeh. They looked _good,_ with just enough skin showing, and just enough covered up.

Yeah, _real _good, see?

Too good to look at _us _in our poverty, at our dirt-caked skin and hungry forms. They got it good, man, not at all like us, hey?

You know what I mean. You been there, huh? You just like us, not like _them,_ not a climber.

"What're you lookin' at, ho?" I called, my voice loud. They finally got to me. I stepped closer, imposing my height and build on them. I mean, I ain't the biggest, heaviest guy around, but I sure as hell am bigger 'n them. They're _daisies,_ _and_ I'm a rock. My eyes glowed, my hair stood on end, and they had the nerve to not even flinch!

Imagine the fools.

I coulda pounded either one of 'em, and they don't even blink!

"_Fuck _you, man—" I'm yelling, handing out words like knives and hopin' they wanna tango, y'know? It's too much ta take, livin like we do. And I'll sure as hell wipe the _ground _with their sorry asses,the bastards.

The blond prince laughs, while his king watches through slitted, amused and golden eyes. The king turns away—safe in the slums, the bastard's so f'ing powerful—and leaves his pets to me. I can't help but grin.

"Nice choice a words, fuck-wad." White teeth flashed in that gently tanned face, and the contrast had my eyes in moments.

That's when I realized that their badass _tattoos _weren't quite what I thought. Shit, it was like a spider web, wound up and coiled like rope with tiny, flower-like kisses. The raven prince's was like a choker, a vampire necklace that came together _just _off the center. It made the seal on his neck less noticeable, but even a Natural like me can feel the power...

The blond Cat, with his painful laughter and huge grins, his is hidden behind a wave of hair, but a breeze reveals the web. This time, it's like the spider got wet, and spun a web thicker 'n the raven's, and only on half the face. Up above the forehead, hey? Around the edge just enough to touch a _sarcastic _eyebrow and stopping at a curve _just _under his eye. Like the others, his web near glowed, and if I concentrated, I could _feel _the chains.

The ropes and coils and needlebites that bound the two ho's to their King, the snake lord.

"You think you got it so bad?" I scream at 'em, huh? And the Raven doesn't even think of me. He's off somewhere in his head, not even on the same world like the rest of us.

And Cat, yeah, Cat with his six whiskers on his round face? He's a picture! He just grins at me, a snide ol' grin like m'ol' pop used to have, ri' before they turned his face in.

But the Jap answers first. "Don't even think of comparing us." The words caught me off, y'know? It's like everything _shoulda _been sensual, pretty, even, but him? Yeah, this Raven, he's like ice, man, he's like gettin' stuck by a knife in the gut...

I crow, laughing now, 'cause I _know _they can't touch me! A slave lifts a hand on a Natural, and shit, man, they're gone 'fore they even know what hit 'em! Haha, yeah, no shit, man. I can deal with a couple a slaves.

"We different, ho, we ain't got special food or clothes like _you _do!" and it looked so cool in the killing sun, it looked so great.

Makes a guy want some time alone with _this _kinda slave.

Cat's smile is sad now, and I think of my old nana, my old lady sayin' that there's a cat in the sky, crying down on all o' us asses.

The Jap's laughing like he know, too. I spit again, but I soon think better of doing it another time, 'cause my mouth's as dry as hell. I want a soda, I want _water_, damn it, something to help my throat.

But my head's hurting like hell, and my hands are achy too.

I don't want to hear about their troubles. I don't want to hear about how a slave can hurt, too...

We've got enough of our own problems, hey?

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Help me figure out what this is, and I'll probably write it into a longer short story... 


	3. God Touched

**Warnings: **profanity, AU, indication of many gods (Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade). You can interpret it as YAOI or no, either SasuNaru or NaruSasu (I don't know which...)  
**Disclaimer: **Naruto belongs to someone who's not me. Probably several someones.

**

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Summary: **Sasuke and Naruto are chosen by their respected "teachers" from the Legendary Three as, ah, "Chosen."

The story's a snapshot of a world that's half formed in my head.

**

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Author's note: **so. I wrote this partially on whim, partially thinking of Perfect Circle's "The Noose," partially thinking of an idea I came up with a while ago. It has an accompanying picture.

If you want to write a story with these characters, please contact me, and I'll help you brainstorm.

I don't know if I'll ever work on this again...unless I get really inspired, pro'lly not...

**

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Title:** God Touched  
**Rating: **PG-13 for profanity and mature(ish) themes.  
**Narrator: **Sasuke.  
**Status:** unknown, up for grabs.  
**Author:** Taes  
**When I wrote it:** Aug 23, 2005  
**What I wrote it for:** my art. Retype the link.

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 22090444 SLASH

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**God Touched**...by Taes 

A touch of hands, smiling, sweet lips, and gentle caress of hair so fine it could be gold. Your aura has, as ever, glowed brightly in my eyes as it will again. I smirk behind grinning lips and note the blood on your cheek. Your damned, softened and whitened cheeks are blood streaked.

Three.

There are three bloody streaks to mark you as what you are, to mark you as god Touched or Chosen.

Few would name you lucky.

Few would envy your ability, and even fewer envy _mine._

_I_ am God Touched—Lord Orochimaru has ever wanted _me_, and he _has_ me, now and always—and I am marked. My rank denoted by the retched collar—once a _halo_—that chokes any rebuke from me… My wings are but wispy flashes of air to the common fools, as your aura is merely strangely colored light…

But if you are Touched, you would see the differences all the clearer.

No, you could never be _just_ Chosen, you could never be _only _Touched, you, with your pride and your goddamned arrogance make you take it off! The blindfold the gods Themselves put reverently around your eyes to spare you the shock of Their features…and you take it off with nary a thought, and you see _me. _

Ah, the arrogance…

For that, Lord Jiraiya marked you as His, marked you with the _kitsune _lines, and tried to steal your Gift for His own.

Gods are not _greedy_, child.

They merely expect to _receive _what is yours—and thus, rightfully Theirs.

Don't smile, love, or they'll want _that, _too…

Just be calm.

Just _be_

_silent_

as you could never be…

I laugh now, and you, idiotically, only smile. Fool. You haven't realized, have you?

You're in Their territory, now. You are no longer your own.

_So stop acting like you're the one in charge, bitch…_

---------------------------------------


	4. Summer Kids

**Warnings: **First person present, random Naruto scene.  
**Disclaimer: **alas, I own neither Naruto, nor the lovely pic that inspired this randomness.

**

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Summary: **young Naruto goes swimming.

**

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Title: **Summer Kids  
**Point of View:** Naruto.  
**Rated: **K+  
**Author: **Taes  
**Date written: **August 28, 2005  
**What I wrote it for: **YaoiloverK (YaoiloverS on "Fun in the Sun." Retype the link to see her cute art!

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 22282632 SLASH

**

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Summer Kids**...by Taes

_Splish, splash_ the water licks my feet like some kinda hungry dog. It's cold, but it's _hot_ out of the water, so I'll take that! Definitely, this is _much_ better than sparring with that stupid Sasuke...hmph...

He told me that a _real_ ninja should be able to swim _without_ a floatee, and I told him! I did, I said, 'I can so swim! I caught us a fish a time or two, and you know it!' but he just laughed his usual laugh and I growled at him and walked off as proud as a guy can with a bright orange floatee around his waist.

...grf...but they're _so_ much fun to play with...

...stupid Sasuke...

Everyone _else_ likes it. Sakura smiled and even _laughed_ at my visor! She said it fits me just fine, and you know what? I believe her! 'cause Sakura-chan's the best, even if she does wear a weird bathing suit...I mean, if you're gonna wear that _little_, why not just go nude?

...maybe she'd get cold...

...hehehe...it'd be fun to see _Sasuke_ swimming nude...I bet his but reflects the sunlight, it's so white, haha!

So, yeah, I wade into the water and it hugs me close, like a real wave should, even. It carries me lazily back and forth...

I think maybe I'll close my eyes for a little, and let the waves take me around...

...blech, salt water tastes nasty...yucky...

...why's their salt water in my mouth...?

Oh, yeah...I was swimming in the ocean...

...oceans are pretty...

Oh, waitasecond. Ocean? water. In my mouth.

Oh, man...this is _not_ good...I flail about frantically for a few minutes, about to yell for help as hard and as loud as I can, when my feet touch sand.

I look down.

Oh. Dude. I can stand...

Hmm...maybe I shouldn't go to sleep while playing...

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	5. Waiting for You

**Warnings: **Angst. A sort of "what if" thought that flew through my head when thinking of a scene from _Ai...(_see if you can find it. Hint: look at what I wrote it for). SasuNaru.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**Summary:** Sakura realizes something she didn't want to recognize.

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**Title: **Waiting for you  
**Narrator: **Sakura  
**Rating: **PG-13  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status:** complete (as it gets).  
**Date written:** August 23, 2005  
**What I wrote it for:** Pai (paytakprenses on deviantART)'s "And then a Shrimp Went Flying." Retype the link to see her lovely art! 

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 22018659 SLASH

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**Waiting for you...**by Taes 

Waiting for you, I lean against the wall. But there's a sound above me, and I see a black-clad foot disappearing up the ladder I should have climbed. Leaning backwards, I see a faint hint of blond fluff for hair, and I know it immediately. I know _them_ immediately, and the voice only confirms what I already knew.

You disappear together, and I think,

_sweet rain, come about me and wash away_

all

_that has been touched by_

you.

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to be updated when I feel like it...

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	6. Waiting for Time

**Warnings: **_shounen ai,_ angst. Unbetaed (like all of these), death ficlet. And this could be considered an alternate ending to my other story, "Something of Love: _Ai no Koto" _but it doesn't _have _to be. SasuNaru, I guess.  
**Disclaimer: **so many things I own in the world, and Naruto isn't one of them...how sad.

**

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Summary: **Sasuke waits to die with Naruto close to him.

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**Author's note: **...wow, there are actually people reading these...I'm kinda honored, actually...that anyone cares enough to even bother with these shorts? Thanks. Really, it's a great, fun thing to know...

**

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Title:** Waiting for time  
**Narrator:** Sasuke.  
**Rating:** PG-13 for the _shounen ai_, and for implications.  
**Author:** Taes  
**Status: **complete (as it gets)  
**Date written:** August 23, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for:** Pai (paytakprenses on deviantART)'s "And then a Shrimp Went Flying." Retype the link to see her lovely art!

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 22018659 SLASH

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I lean against you, tired now, and we smile in a soft kind of way only lovers share. The thought makes me smile a little, and against the cold, tight feeling in my chest, I laugh a little. My head hurts, but you just hold me tighter, and the world loses its color for just an instant. 

But I'm with _you,_ so everything's in order.

"...you remember, Naruto?" I ask, and you squirm a little bit, not wanting me to talk, probably.

The world is in high contrast, now...the colors, gold and red and orange all fly into my senses like only light can... and it reminds me, that color is really only _light_ and the gold I think is _you_ is a reflection...

or is it?

I've forgotten...

"Remember what, Sasuke?" your voice is low for comfort, next to my ear and filling me with peace.

"The 'bento..."

"Bento?"

"You threw shrimp, you...idiot...perfectly good shrimp at me..."

Laughter then, and a gentle tousle of hair and small circles rubbed into my shoulders. I could melt from the beautiful feeling...

"I guess I did," laughter in your voice.

"...yeah..."

And so I breathe slowly, breath gently until the cold, tight feeling expands to a warm, liquid type warmth that probably shouldn't exist in my chest...

"I...Naruto, I love...you..." I choke, and you cry a little, your body tightens and your breath catches.

"I love you too..." and I know it's true, I know nobody but _you_ would bother being here...nobody but you, my Naruto...

And the darkness takes me,

takes me into light

into _your_ heart and into dreams of

memory

of flying shrimp and

laughter.

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**(end of this one...)**

...yeah...if you draw some great art, I tend to get motivated enough to write something, just for you...I can say that with a grin or a smile, and you can just laugh, 'kay? ( :

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	7. Getting the Picture

**Warnings: **Profanity.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own it.

**

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Author's note: **...I have no idea where this is going...if anywhere. (:

**

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Summary: **Naruto muses about art.

**

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Title: **Getting the picture.  
**Narrator: **Naruto.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for profanity.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status: **unknown.  
**Date written: **Friday, August 26, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for: **I was either looking at art, or drawing?

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Someone told me once, that a casual viewer only pays attention to your work for six seconds. That's _all _you get. Some guy's abstract _shit _could get the whole six, and something I work on for hours might just get two, because that's how people's minds _work. _

Fuck it, that's how _my _mind works. I don't recognize when I trod over others' dreams...don't realize when my remarks aren't quite what the person was looking for.

But it's not my fault, is it? It's not _my _job to make sure everyone else's fuckin' happy or some shit like that, right?

...right...

It's kinda depressing, ain't it?

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**(end of this one)**

...if you have any suggestions for any of this, talk to me, 'kay? I love hearing from you guys. ( :


	8. Remembrance

**Warnings: **angst. Death ficlet. Poetry in text. Unknown PoV, 'cause...that'd reveal too much. Use your head. SasuNaru, I guess.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**

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Summary: **someone died, and someone mourns his or her loss.

**

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Title:** Remembrance  
**Narrator:** I'm not telling...  
**Rating:** PG-13 for implications  
**Author:** Taes  
**Status: **unknown  
**Pairings: **SasuNaru, NaruSasu. Pick.  
**When I wrote it: **August 13, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for: **my art. Retype the link.

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 21687994 SLASH

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**Remembrance...**by Taes

--:--:--:--:--

You said it once. You said, _Sometimes, it is best to remember only the small things._

The feel of your cheeks against my hands, the soft warmth that tells me you _are_. I couldn't live without these things, and yet...I stand? Without you here, can I bother to

walk

away from the

wind

that carries you to me? I can hear your voice, far away and gentle, and I try not to cry...I am not that weak. I am _not that human._

You know it now, you know that I have to

_remember_

that the only thing to do is

_forget._

--:--:--:--:--


	9. those Small, Large things

**Warnings:** Unknown narrator. SasuNaru, NaruSasu.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own it.

**

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Title: **"those Small, Large things"  
**Narrator: **...guess...  
**Rating: **PG. 'cause of the one it goes with...  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status:** unknown  
**When I wrote it: **August 13, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for: **My art. See the previous for the link.

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**those Small, Large things**...by Taes

---------

I want to hold you...

Hold you one last time.

-------


	10. My dearest

**Warnings: **ahh. Profanity. Confusion. Um. Not really a pairing...? Unless you read into things.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**

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Author's note: **consider this a quick piece from Sasuke's mother (Mikoto)'s point of view for the story "forgetting reason."

**

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**

**Summary: **Mikoto talks to Itachi before dinner.**  
**

**

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Title: **My dearest.  
**Narrator: **Mikoto.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for profanity.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status: **complete (as it gets)  
**When I wrote it: **August 13, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for: **Pai (paytakprenses)'s "Icigo- Fragola di Bleach." Retype the link to see her wonderful art! Note, it's not of Naruto...or Itachi...or Mikoto...

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 19383037 SLASH

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**My dearest...**by Taes 

--:--:--:--:--

I smile at you, with your sharp eyes and your sharp grin, and I can't help but see your sweet little fingers twisted around that poor bloom. Mine.

"What's this," you ask, "Why do you smile so, with your teeth so sharp?"

"Nothing, dearest, but your hair is something to speak of, with its fine twists and smoke-like flare." I reply.

"That smile of yours grows, bitch. I don't _like_ the twinkle in your eyes." your hands twist around the flower-- if it can be called that-- and I laugh a little. My dearest son.

"So hurry." I bid.

_"Hurry_ with _what_?" You ask, so sharp.

"Don't snarl, dear, it breaks your charm. And keep those nasty, sharp teeth behind your lips. It doesn't do to show the world." I laugh.

"Mother, I'm not _listening_ to you--" You say.

"Nonsense. Get your hands out of your pocket, sweet, and let's get back. I need to get the bread from the oven..."

You sulk, and I smile.

_"Other_ teenagers' parents don't make them help with chores." You say with a snarl, and I laugh again. "Why don't you _look_ at me when I'm talking?"

"Yes, dear...and other children's parents don't make their sons strawberry cookies."

--:--:--:--:--


	11. Keeping the Sanity

**Warnings: **insanity. Poetry. Possible implied _shounen ai_.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**

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Author's note: **think of this as a look into Sasuke's head from that other story of mine, "My Sasuke."

**

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Summary: **Sasuke...sounds insane.

**

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**

**Title: **Keeping the Sanity  
**Narrator: **Sasuke.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature (confusing) themes.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status: **in progress, in a way, complete on its own.  
**When I wrote it: **August 13, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for:** Sweetie-Pai (paytakprenses)'s Tracheophyte. Rewrite the link to find the inspirational pic!

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 18611328 SLASH

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**Keeping the Sanity...**by Taes

--:--:--:--:--

I closed the door  
to let you in,  
I opened the window  
to

keep

out the rain.

My heart, it

folds

, and you, I

see.

Things for you and things for

not

things to see and things to

_forget_

Because reality's falling _down_ into a hole where I can't re_ach_ it. The simplicity of it all amazes me, really, and the fragmented spaces, the churning of hate and love into an altogether _unpalatable_ mix...it turns, too.

Turns like me.

Turns like you.

So I'll wait here, wait for you, wait for _me_ to see the sound of music drifting from my hand to

yours

and wait for the iron ice to

fall

and wait for the iron ice to

crack.

Like me.

--:--:--:--:--


	12. Design of life

**Warnings: **angst. Poetry. SasuNaru or NaruSasu.  
**Disclaimer: **I don't own Naruto.

**

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Summary: **Sasuke muses. I believe this may exist within the actual series...anbu? Genin? Chuunin? _I _dunno...you tell me.

**

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Title:** Design of Life  
**Narrator:** Sasuke  
**Rating:** PG-13 for the _shounen ai_, and 'cause it's not really _light._  
**Author:** Taes  
**Status: **...probably done?  
**Pairings: **SasuNaru, NaruSasu. Pick.  
**When I wrote it: **Sep 4, 2005.  
**What I wrote it for: **Sweetie-Pai (dA's paytakprenses)'s pic (a crossover with FMA, amusingly). It screamed out at me, so I jotted down a reply. Now I've edited it. Go and look at it!

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 22546507 SLASH

**

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Design of life...**by Taes

Patterns hiding in

my

head away from you and me while we try and see the

sight

of Leaders and men and life while it

is

as wonderfully graceful as it can be without the four of us together. You see, dear, there's nothing wonderful or terrible about you, there's nothing great but the simplicity of your grin that says you're

smiling

at me or at them in an odd kind of way, dear, an odd kind of way.

I think that you and I could become lost together, lost in each other for our differences lost

at

you with me, with us in

one

different world that screams of gold and black. The brilliance breaks me like a

breaking

star.

for you, not for me. It's wonderfully _stupid_, it's wonderfully _not_ it's mine and yours and ours alone and can it really beget the silence I seek?

Technique

begs for explanation that your imagination can give, _nin-jutsu_ lusts for simplicity in design, for what

is

known to you and me by nature of the stars. Men die. We help them.

All

you can say is everything,

_all_

you can do _exists_

for

you, not for me, and not of all those

people

who are like stars.

Like you.

* * *

**  
End note: **...so. What do you think? Feel free to pin me with an idea. I'll be sure to think on it! 


	13. traveling between

**Warnings:** 2nd person PoV. Two stories in one (see if you can find it). Angst, I guess.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**

* * *

Summary: **"You" think of things as "you" walk up a mountain. Think of "A tale of Kitsune Revisited" from _Ai. _

**Author's note: **...I really like writing two stories into one...poetry lets that be a little more obvious, too...still experimenting with this style. We'll see where it goes.

* * *

**Title: **traveling between  
**Narrator: **"You" are intended to be Naruto.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for the sadness and possible confusion.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Status: **complete as it gets, I believe.  
**Date written: **Sep 9, 2005, 12:46:38 PM  
**What I wrote it for: **XiaoBai (so called on deviantART) drew me a picture. I felt like responding with words. If I get around to it, I plan on writing similar "art inspired" pieces for other contestants...

Go see the pic that inspired it!

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 21617829 SLASH

**

* * *

traveling between...**by Taes

You walk, listening to the sound of wind chiming in your ears,

Waiting

for yours and the simple ecstasy of light and shadow. You see the ghosts of color falling through the air, you see the simple signs of sadness

for

what else can sadness be but

color

on the wind?

You hear only your footsteps

in

the hard dirt, for a while, and your ears burn for

the

cold wind on your

heart

's mind, your mind's presentation of your body that walks and freezes up the path. The only thing you can do is continue, the only thing you can say is,

"Of

"late, he's gone afar...gone into the

"kingdoms

"of darkness and the wings of hate and compassion will steal his heart away."

And when your feet hit the ground, your ears become wary of the things about you, the leaves falling with the chill air, a small smile on an invisible spirit's face

of

his white, white mask. What can you do but seek your

dreams?

Will

you

take

it?

* * *

(end of this one)

So. What'd you think?  



	14. think you're so great?

**Warnings: **cursing, juvenile behavior.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Summary: **Analternate-Sasuke (stemming from _Ai _events, but imagine him around 12 instead of 17) grumbles about Naruto.**Author's note: **...something about random alternate charas amuses me...I was bored...very, very bored...finished this today (September 12th).

* * *

**Title: **think you're so great?  
**Narrator: **Sasuke  
**Rating: **PG-13 for juvenile cursing and irritation.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **...none, but implied _interest _between Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **complete as it gets  
**Date written** Sep 9, 2005, 12:59:48 PM  
**What I wrote it for: **Kuu-ish (so called on dA, and Ky0Kichi on drew me a picture, and I felt like replying in words...I'll eventually get around to doing the same for other contestants, too, I hope... 

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 21072526 SLASH

**

* * *

think you're so great?...**by Taes

Smile, brat, smile and call your curses at me, but don't you dare say it.

I can pull more than your _pants,_ freak, and I will, too!

Heh, you think you're so great...

You think you're so powerful, with those three parallel scars, but what do you know?

What do you know, huh?

You're nothing but a stupid _kid, _you know!

I can feel the anger boiling within me, and I run over to him as he pulls up his pants—that _I _pulled down—and I tackle him.

It looks like we're hugging, now, 'cause he's tried to stop me by wrapping his arms around me, the stupid freak.

We tumble to the ground, and everyone stops and stares.

Naruto's somehow on top of me, and I'm looking into his blue eyes. He looks surprised, and his pants are still halfway down.

Somewhere behind us, a girl screeches. "Aaa! Sasuke's gay!"

* * *

( end this one)

...did I mention I was bored...?


	15. Bright, orange things

**Warnings: **bitter amusement, still playing with 2nd person PoV.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Summary: **Sasuke thinks about Naruto after pulling down his pants (think Chapter one in _Ai.) _

**Author's note: **this was started on the date noted, and continued today (the 12th). Oh, and this is sorta a parallel universe to _Ai, _not an inside look. I'm just playing about.

**

* * *

Title: **Bright, orange things  
**Narrator: **"You" are intended to be Sasuke.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for implied stuff..  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **...none, but implied _interest _between Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **complete as it gets, probably.  
**Date written** Sep 9, 2005, 12:59:48 PM  
**What I wrote it for: **Kuu-ish (so called on dA, and Ky0Kichi on drew me a picture, and I felt like replying in words...I'll eventually get around to doing the same for other contestants, too, I hope...

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 21072526 SLASH

**

* * *

Bright, orange things...**byTaes

_Whish_, the sounds of wind through your hair is more than enough to make your smirk widen. Your lips can't help it; that smaller kid over there, he just lost to _you_ after all, in a fight more fair than most would get.

You smile, amused.

_His boxers are cute..._ you think with a grin, and you wonder if any of the other ninja think so. _Probably not,_ you decide, because that kid's too annoying...

You're not unreasoned in this. He's desecrated many monuments, ignored even _Iruka, _a favorite teacher among ninja students, and generally caused trouble all over the fire village.

You walk back to the scowling kid, and you bend down.

"Sa—Sasuke!" he sputters, and you only smirk.

You look up at him from your vantage point, and grin a little wider to tell him that _you're _in charge here, not him.

Slowly, you reach for the bright orange pants at the kid's feet, and you lean forward _just _a little as you lift them up. Naruto, naturally, screams rather loudly, and sputters incoherently.

"Don't _do—"_

But it's too late. You've already done it.

You've pulled his pants back up, and left a _tiny _little mark on what will one day be yours.

You smile.

The world is good.

* * *


	16. Smile with Me?

**Warnings: **angst, story within a poem, slight creepiness. Playing with 2nd person and stories within poems.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

* * *

**Summary: **Sasuke muses about masks, and Naruto.

**Author's note: **truly, random and confusing things are my forte. ( : you already knew that, though, didn't you? Look for another hidden story.

**

* * *

Title: **Smile with Me?  
**Narrator: **"You" are intended to be Sasuke.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature concepts and creepiness.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **...none, but implied _interest _between Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **complete as it gets, I believe...unless the idea swallows me.  
**Date written** Sep 9, 2005, 12:59:48 PM  
**What I wrote it for: **Kuu-ish (so called on dA, and Ky0Kichi on drew me a picture, and I felt like replying in words...I'll eventually get around to doing the same for other contestants, too, I hope...

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH deviation SLASH 21072526 SLASH

**

* * *

Smile with Me?...**by Taes

The single, whitened

mask

grins at you, grins at you

with

sharpened teeth behind

smiling

lips of red, beneath an eye of hate, sewn shut to prevent the

eyes

from knowing what you know.

You wear the mask

of

your father's, you wear it with a smirk and a grin, and the knowledge that not even the strongest of foes can beat you, now. That kid, with his mask tatooed on his

simple

face, it makes for an unusual cover-up. His blue, blue eyes must be painted on, they're so bright, and you know it's only a mask. Only a mask, for who would show such eyes to anyone? You wouldn't, certainly, you'd sew them up for

fears

of others finding them, and you'd be all the better for it

and

only your mother would know what color they truly are. He

loves

the attention, you know. He loves people staring at his painted-on eyes, and he loves to see _you_ stare into them, trying to find the seam that you know is there. It annoys you, but

will

you tell him so? No, you'll just talk your talk and call yourself righteous, you'll just laugh and crush all that could

be

his with your strong smile, and take his strength so it will be

yours.


	17. the Wall

**Warnings: **insanity. Angst ('cause it's sad...). Poetry. Needs to be read at least twice for comprehension.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**

* * *

Summary: **Sasuke talks about the walls.

**Author's note: **this accompanies "My Sasuke" Only, it's a diff PoV, so can't go in that story. So, consider this a "My Sasuke"'s Sasuke's PoV, if that makes sense. If not, just think, "Okay. Sasuke's either very, very young, or insane." Okies?

**

* * *

Title: **the Wall  
**Narrator: **Sasuke from "My Sasuke."  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature concepts and insanity.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **...none, but implied ongoing_ interest _between Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **likely to be connected to another chp.  
**Date written: ** ...the Sunday before Memorial Day...I know that 'cause I had no class...what date? I have _no _idea.  
**What I wrote it for: **Taise. My silly brother was bugging me about writing a poem for this Sasuke. And, being the pushover twin I am, I did.

**

* * *

the Wall...**by Taes

Sitting dully, waiting patiently  
aloft in my head and  
sleeping softly, too  
quiet  
and catlike purrs to tell  
the walls I'm _safe_ and  
here and

_all_

right in the end.

You, here for me and

suddenly

my

squishy, lovely little bear for  
all sorts of things to  
know, like nothing at

all and everything

to see.

Listen, listen, hear me? See  
Me at your side and  
Feel me on your arm? I'm  
_here,_ I'm really, wonderfully  
and sweetly here to see you

you know?

I curl against my wall,  
Too, so it's not so lonely,  
not so sad and broken  
And hard—it's soft in my head—  
but your smile turns around  
on me while I purr a  
quiet message to my  
barrier—the soft  
thing that helps me  
in and calls me out  
like the funny little

Spider bug

in my head.

**

* * *

END of this one. **

**Author's note:**

...at first, I thought the computer ate it (this note), but I just forgot to write it...

...uh. What'd you think?


	18. In which we fall

**Warnings: **sadness. You know me.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**Summary: **Sasuke wants Naruto to fly with him, but forgets that Naruto has not the wings.

**Author's note: **completely random.

**

* * *

Title: **In which we fall  
**Narrator: **Third person. The angel is Sasuke.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature concepts and sadness.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **implied Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **complete as it gets, I believe...unless the idea swallows me.  
**Date written** Wednesday, September 21, 2005 9:39:00 AM  
**What I wrote it for: **I was listening to Gackt's song... "Oasis."

Go listen to it, if you can find it.

**

* * *

In which we fall...**byTaes

"Believe in me," he bids, his arms outstretched.

The other reaches out; his pale hands have gone purple and gray from lack of movement. His eyes, a brilliant blue to rival the skies, are swathed in shadows too deep. They are too far stretched to be cast by the arching shadows of wings—_his _wings.

"I trust you," the blond murmurs, and even his lips seem deadened. The words come out too slow. He steps up.

One foot on the railing, darkened arms reaching for the beautiful creature hovering before him.

"You should," the other whispers. His dark hair falls over eyes of pitch. And he treads backwards in the air, lengthening the distance between them. "Come."

Blue eyes close.

And he steps upward,

over the guard,

and into the air.

He falls.

And blue eyes

open.

* * *

(what do you think?)  



	19. Fallen for you

**Warnings: **shyness, klutziness, and hopeless musings.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**Summary: **Hinata muses about Naruto.

**Author's note: **who says I can't write het stuff?

**

* * *

Title: **Fallen for you  
**Narrator: **Hinata.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature concepts and sadness.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **implied Sasuke and Naruto  
**Status: **complete as it gets, I believe...unless the idea swallows me.  
**Date written** Sunday, August 21, 2005 6:16:00 AM  
**What I wrote it for: **I wanted to write a baby fic. This is the prelude for a Naruto-Hinata relationship. Eventually a baby is born...I dunno if I'll ever finish the idea, though...

**

* * *

Fallen for you...**byTaes

I clenched my hands together—briefly—it's so certain….that he won't even _see _me in here. My cousin eyes me wearily, _angrily, _even. I bite my lip and look at my thumbs.

I can tell he's annoyed. Even _I _can tell that…he's watching me, yes, but watching _him, _too.

A voice tugged at my senses. I turned. "—just so we know that there's a whole business world out there, outside of our own walls—" the strong, deep voice the woman commanded had me envious and forlorn, all at once.

If I were as self-assured, as dominating and _driven _as she, surely he'd—

—surely he'd…

…notice…

They make the whole place seem too crowded, my feelings for him…it makes the whole place unbearable, really.

"Hinata," my cousin's eyes are commanding. As a senior member of our family—a senior to _me, _anyways, and a senior in high school—father expects him to look after me…it's been that way since I began elementary school. And so during recess or after school, I'd never been apart from my protector. At first, he played with me—tag or hide-and-seek, and once in a while, House, but then…

He changed.

He stopped smiling at my father, he stopped treating _me_ like a playmate.

His Daddy—my uncle, and twin to my father—had died in car that _father _was supposed to have taken…it was a car bomb…

…no one knows _why, _but…Neji's never trusted my father, after that.

No friend could be polite enough, no elder safe enough, not _good_ enough to play with…Neji was nice, to protect me…

All those years. And yet, it was the year he started middle school that I finally got to meet him.

My first love.

My…Naruto.

He moved into my class from out of district, all smiles and laughter to join a family that'd lost their child…an _older _mom and dad, yes but it was okay…he could walk me to school—even though he rant he whole way and left me a good way behind without a word—and we played sometimes…

Not really a _game. _It went kind of like this…

Naruto would smile goofily at me, and I'd smile back.

"Hey, Hee-knat!" he'd laugh. He couldn't remember my _real _name; he always called me 'Hee-knat' as a sort of…um…affectionate nickname, I guess.

And I'd twiddle my thumbs, blush, and look away quickly.

Sometimes, I'd even get out a reply before he bounced away, something like, "Hey, Na-Naruto…" or "H-hello…" even.

I didn't like to say, "Goodbye." It sounds so terribly _final, _and I don't _ever _want it to be that way, with him…I'd miss his sweet smiles, and his gently laughing eyes….

As I lurch for a cup of warm tea—tea with milk, as Neji wants, for I'm _much _too dainty as it is…calcium should build me stronger, but it doesn't—he looks this way.

_He's _not small in the least…no, _he's _tall and beautiful, blond of hair and blue of eye, he's an American God in the prime of life…a dream that laughs. Smiles.

_...crash! _The sound of the falling dish makes me jump too high, makes my cousin frown. I whirl around, and see my dream-in-human-guise rubbing his head. Smiling sheepishly and trying to talk a worker out of a bill.

A smile pulls on my lips. _My _dream breaks dishes.

It's enough to make a girl giggle, really.

My dearest dream…


	20. Waking up

**Warnings: **confusing emotions.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**Summary: **Tsunade muses about Jiraiya.

**Author's note: **who says I can't write het stuff?

**

* * *

Title: **Waking up  
**Narrator: **Tsunade.  
**Rating: **PG-13 for mature concepts and stuff.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **Tsunade x Jiraiya  
**Status: **complete as it gets  
**Date written** 2005-September 14, 8:25PM  
**What I wrote it for: **rondaview, for writing an amazing story, flash frame. Follow to read.

http COLON SLASH SLASH rondaview DOT destinystruth DOT net SLASH fic SLASH flash DOT htm

**

* * *

Waking up...**by Taes

Sometimes the smell of

Fresh

and simple food makes me smile, makes me grin. Sometimes, the smell

of

it makes me frown, makes me run away, too quick, too fast to see who it is that dares make my stomach go _up_ and _down_ like the tumbling of unfinished jewels in a tumbler...like me, with you, in your arms, going up and down like

light

in the air for just us. Just for us, you know?

and

of course, there's always what you say, there's always what you do that makes me furious with your bear-like embrace, that makes me want to hit you for your impossible fantasies and unrealistic dreams.

sweet

, you call me, when you're done calling me stupid, when you're

of

the mind to make me grin the best of

smiles

that you can manage. It makes me laugh, it makes me smile, it makes me hit you so hard you fall...and yet,

you

take

me

by

surprise.


	21. Onigiri

**Warnings: **fluff. Teasing. Arguing.  
**Disclaimer: **I really don't own Naruto.

**Summary: **Team Seven rides a bus, Kakashi brings onigiri.

**

* * *

Title: **Onigiri  
**Narrator: **third-person past.  
**Rating: **PG-13 just 'cause.  
**Author: **Taes  
**Pairings: **Implied SasuNaru.  
**Status: **complete as it gets  
**Date written: **2006—January 25.  
**What I wrote it for: **a cute girl, (LJ user) **gwichanaayo**, who drew a cute pic.

http COLON SLASH SLASH www DOT deviantart DOT com SLASH view SLASH 28114154

**

* * *

Onigiri...**by Taes.

Naruto fidgeted awkwardly, smiling despite his discomfort. His blond hair jilted into his face with every rock, bump and i groan /i of the ride, and he was most certainly i not /i happy.

"Sasuke..." Naruto whined. "Why do we have to take this stupid i bus /i anyways?"

The way he said i bus /i would have been more suitable for speaking the name of a rare breed of monster.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he looked to Kakashi for explanation. "Because, idiot," he began.

Kakashi took the liberty of finishing for him; "Supposedly," he said very lowly, using a strange Konoha-dialect not even the children could follow perfectly, "this bus-route has been targeted by rogues, and intends to demolish the vehicle before the night's out."

Naruto squeaked as they turned a corner. "Well, go ahead and let them!" he yelped, "this thing's just...just..." as words failed him, his mouth opened again and again without sound.

"You look like a fish." Sasuke noted slyly, smirking in his usual Uchiha fashion.

Naruto sputtered, proclaiming loudly, "Sasuke!" as though the name was a challenge, and not at all something a comrade might say, "I do not!"

Sakura covered her smiling mouth with two hands, and contented herself to look out the window, giggling quietly as her teammates argued.

From the front of the bus, the driver called, "Oi," and then, "you brats! Shut up or get off!"

Naruto swallowed his words in a most amusing manner; he nearly choked on them, and Sasuke had to pat him on the back for the boy to regain his senses.

Kakashi, bored, and thinking the natives all too gullible for their own good, pulled out i _Icha Icha Paradise /i _and began to read.

Several long hours passed.

Naruto began to snore, and Sasuke began to practice various hand signals, much to Sakura's discomfort. Kakashi ignored them all.

The bus squealed to a stop, jerking all the passengers forward as the bus driver called, "kids, this is the last stop. Get off."

Kakashi turned the page in his novel, saying, "we'll follow you on your next route."

The bus driver grumbled, "no, you won't. I'm taking lunch."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask, "and we'll be here when you return."

The driver gave a long sigh, and departed.

Naruto's stomach growled. After a few minutes of squirming in his sleep, the boy woke up with a sleep-drowsed, "I'm hungry," and rapid blinking of cerulean-blue eyes, "can you give me—"

Sasuke's shoulders trembled with suppressed laughter, and Sakura rolled her eyes.

Kakashi reached into his kunai holster and pulled out—

—three innocent onigiri.

"Oh-tto," he murmured, "I only brought three,"

Naruto's mouth dropped open.

Sakura's mouth pinched shut as she glowered at the i jounin. /i "Kakashi-sensei!" she pouted, "no! This is i not /i going to be another of your weird, senseless teamwork missions!"

Behind his mask, Kakashi frowned, daydreaming of the three students fighting it out to eat the onigiri, thereby making the dull bus routine more interesting...he sighed, and tried to defend his tarnished reputation with his students, "I didn't i intend /i on leaving one behind..." he protested.

Sakura took two of the nigiri from Kakashi, and tossed one at Naruto. "You two!" she grinned. "Share."

Kakashi sighed again, thinking, i but that's not teamwork at all... /i

Naruto caught the little triangle of rice-wrapped-in-dried-seaweed, and his eyes practically shone with sleepy happiness. "Ah!" he proclaimed, ripping off the plastic with his teeth.

Sasuke leaned delicately over Naruto's shoulder, and took the first bite.

"Waaaaaahhhhhh!" Naruto wailed.

Sasuke chewed quietly, swallowed, and smirked. "What?"

Naruto's mouth quivered. "You're eating my onigiri!" he accused.

Sasuke's cool smile only fed Naruto's irritation. "We're sharing." Sasuke explained with a sigh.

Naruto lifted the nigiri to his mouth, and took a i much /i bigger bite than Sasuke's, just to spite the boy. His mouth full, he could only grin—with his eyes—as triumphantly as he could.

Sasuke's smirk returned, "I thought you might like it..." he leaned in close, "after all,"

Naruto leaned away.

Sasuke ignored the blond's curious actions, "it's like a second-hand kiss..."

Naruto sputtered. "WAH!" and gagged.

Sasuke whacked the back of Naruto's head. "Don't you i like /i kissing me?" he demanded.

"YOU'RE CHEATING!"

Sakura turned around to stare at them, a questioning smile on her charming face. "Something wrong?" she asked lazily, having much better ears than they gave her credit for.

Naruto choked. "Er."

Sasuke smiled. "No."

The bus driver returned, and another route was picked.

The nigiri was gone within six bites.

* * *

What'd you think? 


	22. Uchiha Family Interaction

**Title: **none  
**Narrator: **3rd person past.  
**Rating: **PG.  
**Author: **Taes.  
**When I wrote it: **June 15th, 2006.  
**Status: **unknown. Up for grabs.  
**What I wrote it for: **my twin's birthday.

* * *

Sasuke leaned against the car door, listening vaguely to the rolling hum of the road. His mother tried to coax conversation out of a vaguely irritated Itachi, and a slightly amused Fugaku.

"Just like for Itachi's birthday, yes, Sasuke?" Mikoto had smiled. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Sasuke mumbled something to the window. His stomach was upset by the constant rolling of the car.

Itachi looked at Sasuke with softly dark eyes, but he offered no comment. The two brothers shared a quiet gaze as the car settled to a halting stop.

Speaking quietly, Fugaku murmurs in a very satisfied tone, "The trial yesterday went very nicely…no mishaps, except for the local representative. He had been making a scene about gay marriages with a lesbian couple sitting in the front row…it put a bad light on the situation…"

Itachi pulled lightly on Fugaku's sleeve. His expression was passive, but not blank. Then he looks at his father, and slender fingers drop to the side of deep black fabric. This clothing, modeled after some mockery of formal garb, opened up in a broad collar round as millennium, and as secretive as the moon veiled by clouds.

Sasuke looked to his older brother with shaded, sullen eyes. "Aniki…" he murmured, soft enough to disguise his irritation, and low enough to pass as a warning, too.

No one but the elder son noticed a change in the boy.

The waitress smiled at the company as she came forward, recognizing Sasuke from the few times he'd smuggled lunch money and allowances into the restraint to afford a meal. She glanced briefly at the frail, elegant woman the sons favored, and then to the father, with his solid stance and too firm mouth. Itachi smiled in a way that stole gazes and froze blood. The waitress hastily looked away, and ushered the youngest son by the shoulder.

"I wondered what you meant, Sasuke, when you said you'd come again on Thursday…" she laughed a little merrily, a little nervously. "Are you all related?"

Itachi smiled coolly, showing a glimpse of red tongue. "We share blood," he said cryptically, "or spill it."

Turning away from the group, Sasuke hastily explained, "My mother, my father, and my older brother."

The family sat at a table away from the light, and Fugaku frowned just a bit. "Second rate restaurant, wouldn't you think? I imagine the food comes from a poor Asian market…it's not even Japanese." He looked at Sasuke dourly. "Are you certain _this_ is where you'd like to have your birthday?"

Sasuke scowled into his steepled fingers, hiding his expression from calculating eyes. "I'm sure."

Mikoto smiled kindly at her son. "I'm sure they have fine food…at a decent price, too." She murmured with a laugh. "This shouldn't be more than eating at home, yes?" Glancing up and down the menu, she decided to try something 'exotic' to her cultivated tongue.

"Do you want to share a plate?" Sasuke asked Itachi quietly. "If we order appetizers, drink the soup, _and_ eat lunch each…we'll have left-overs…" he waited patiently for his brother to uncross his arms and consider the proposition.

"You don't _want_ left-overs?" the silence broken was heavy. "I thought you liked it."

Sasuke scowled into the table. "It might get thrown—"

"We can share."

Sasuke smiled lightly. "Okay." He closed his menu. "Do you want—"

"Yes."

"…right…"

Sighing, Mikoto signaled the waitress.

* * *

So. Wanna play with it:) Go ahead.

...this was found in an abandoned, lost notebook of mine. If I find any more, I"ll let you know. (: Though this is likely to be the last update Naruto sees from me...


	23. Waking Chapter One

**Note: This is a multi-chapter story,** but it shalln't be updated here (due to no-smut policy). Check my bio for my MediaMiner account for the link to the archived version. (:**  
**

**Warnings:** hints of OroSasu (sort of) and (kind of) OroNaru (not really...more SasuNaru, but still). Oh, and while this part is rather dry, the next part has _adult content,_ so don't start reading if you're not interested.

**Technical:** this is a rewrite of the LJ community "**nsnroundrobin**." Anyways, this is from the "serious, plot-driven story." So, _Waking _is a blend of LJ user **etsumilau**'s "**Icha Icha Paradise**" (Chapter One), and LJ user **blckhyacinth**'s "**Infection****"** (Chapter Two). Seeing that I wrote the third chapter (which some of you may or may not have read), I couldn't let my section of the story stand still...so, being the bored kid I tend to be, I wrote. Please note, though, that this is largely new prose, with some quotes from our celebrated author's chapters. While there is a huge emphasis from their works on the next four sections (15 pages or so), it is primarily my words, and not stuff you've read. So, don't forget to follow the Main RR's progress, 'cause we're going completely different directions, I'm sure. XD

* * *

_**Waking Dreams.**_

_Despairing visions of a sun and moon_

_Waking._  
**Chapter One, Sasuke…**by Taes

_Maybe I should have killed the Kyuubi brat then,_ Orochimaru thought, and to me it tasted of sickly sweet candy…the kind my brother is so fond of…thick, full and nauseatingly soft on every sense.

He isn't displeased, this man of snakelike demeanor, not really. I can tell it…he's merely thoughtful…confident in his abilities, but charmed by the possibility of thwarting his one-time comrades. Tricking them out of their dark cloaks with floating crimson clouds…

A sense of dread fills me, and a great cloud of doubt gnaws at my heart…I can see him, still a golden, bright-eyed child of the past. He has barely discovered his "way of ninja," then. He's taken only a few fretful steps into a forest too dark for him to possibly understand. Even then, mind you, I was leagues ahead of him, half-shrouded in shadow before he grew into the name of _ninja._

…Orochimaru's pleasure only grew at my unease. He brings a chuckle forth from the very depths of his being. Serpentine as always, he hisses and growls in a most mysterious way…_mm, what's this, darling? Have I caught a whisper of your soul, then?_

I often wonder if his previous hosts ever sensed the demon inside, but Orochimaru offers only ridicule whenever I raise a conscious thought. He delights in handing out twisted logic and strange, fatherly _pride_ in me. This last thing brings on a number of reactions, both dim and bright…some of which are gleeful satisfaction, yes, but also dank, fearful _disgust_ that I should be so totally _his._

_Maybe I can break you after all…_ Orochimaru smirks, amused or disdainful, I couldn't tell. In seconds, I'm swallowed by his great thoughts, pushed aside and lulled again to

dark

and somehow

dreamless

slumber…the sleep of the dead, the damned, and tyrants all…

Deep touches of drifting eyes. Warm hands and screaming lips of strawberry-red…eyes of the clearest, bluest sea, set like tombstones in determined resolution. We move together, him softly pushing for some semblance of _love_, me—my body—relentlessly, searching only for a way to.destroy.what cannot be Orochimaru's...there is grim, beautiful satisfaction in this, pleasure beyond compare to hear him scream my

name.

What is he, this golden boy of timeless waking?

Dreaming,

now, of hands wrapped 'round me in passion, not hatred. I wonder how Orochimaru could have caught so delicate a prize, when the sunlight itself envies

him.

I don't even have the time to wonder. What Orochimaru will _do_ with that golden, conquered doll…?

…when he's got the marionette called _me…_

gone again, far _again,_

_

* * *

_

I can't breathe, can't feel anything at all but his breath on me as I come to, feeling clenched fingers tighten ever tighter, and sense wary eyes settle on a face so narrow and strangely smooth I have to wonder…how did this finely dressed man come about such features?

My mouth moves on its own accord—no, on Orochimaru's—and I see through eyes that are no longer mine. They are gold-tinged, slitted things with an air of intelligence, craft, and strength…a genius built so completely that he watches every step, feels every implication, and somehow knows me…

…to be a threat worth consideration.

Me, Konoha, and the _Kyuubi_-brat Naruto, we are all needles that may yet be poison tipped…he would destroy us all.

My mouth speaks; "gentlemen…I appreciate your concern," just as a fox is grateful the hen's truancy with eggs.

...he would put out the sun...

A man with the eyes of a rat smirks a little, twists his long fingers in such a way that suggests agitation, impatience and squalor all at once. He is clever, undoubtedly, this man with expensive clothes and a clean-shaved face… "Naturally." He replies, and continues down a more direct avenue. "Of course Oto will be successful against the errant village, correct?" he simpers joylessly, looking unabashedly down my young, smooth body with distaste. He doubts my competence.

The narrow-faced man coughs lightly, "we have been asked, Lord Orochimaru, to be _certain_ of your intentions…" he coughs again, uneasy still, "if all goes will, Konoha will be stripped of her best ninja...no longer will _she_ claim the seat of power. A _new_ kage will be needed." He folds an ornamental fan and raps it lightly against his own leg.

Orochimaru—I?—laughs, and I feel myself drifting again, deep into the depths of a mind forest, "too many great ninja have come from the Leaf," he begins, I feel my tongue grow smoother, stretch beyond the confines of human design, "while too few protect the _interest_ of Fire's ruling class…"

He grows desperate to ease into true, undisputed power.

I can sense it, as I grow heavy within myself…

…Orochimaru has been put off his guard.

_Some_one will pay for his agitation…

will it be the sun,

or the moon?

at once

I fall

to silent,

despairing

dreams.

There _is_ no waking.

* * *

**Next time:** _bleed me bare and dry._

Again, this is a multi-chapter story.

http DOT DOT SLASH SLASH www DOT mediaminer DOT org SLASH fanfic SLASH viewst DOT php SLASH 118219 (or click on the link in my bio).

**Technical:** (in case you didn't see it the first time) this is a rewrite of the **nsnroundrobin**'s "Serious, plot-driven story." So, this is a blend of **etsumilau**'s **Icha Icha Paradise**(Chapter One), and **blckhyacinth**'s **Infection** (Chapter Two). Please note that I got there permission before posting. Thanks!

Comments will speed the posting of the next section. :Bribe, bribe:

...and you guys know I like criticism, yeah? Hit me. I'm all ears.


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